Although coordination of wage bargaining probably affects entry barriers and competition in product markets, research on price determination has typically not considered such factors. We argue that the price markup depends on wage setting institutions and present empirical evidence in form of...

This paper exploits a unique cross-country, firm-level survey to study the responses of European firms to the sharp demand and credit contraction triggered by the global Great Recession of 2009. The analysis reveals that cost reduction-particularly labour cost reduction through the adjustment of...

The micro- and macroeconomic effects of the declining power of trade unions have been hotly debated by economists and policymakers. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence shows that the impact of the decline on economic aggregates and firm performance is not an overwhelming cause for concern....

In Germany, dependent employees take almost 30 days of paid vacation annually. We enquire whether an individual's trade union membership affects the duration of vacation. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the period 1985 to 2010 and employing pooled OLS-estimators, we...

Eine Auswertung der Allgemeinen Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften (ALLBUS) ergibt, dass der Organisationsgrad der Gewerkschaften unter den Arbeitnehmern im Jahr 2014 nur noch bei knapp 18% lag. Damit wurde im wiedervereinigten Deutschland ein neuer Tiefstand erreicht....

Since the beginning of the transformation in Poland, trade unions have experienced nearly two decades of declining membership numbers and influence. This article shows that not only the restructuring of the economy but also the trade union policies and organizational forms themselves contributed...

The return of social pacts in the context of the current economic crisis, as seen in southern European countries, invites the revival of the discussion about the development of social dialogue practice in its specific context. Based on a longitudinal analysis we examine the agenda of Spanish...

This article analyzes how Nordic trade unions cooperate with unions in Europe, and what actors and organizations they cooperate with to influence EU policies. We examine both similarities and differences between the Nordic countries and between unions in different sectors, and make some...

Unlike most of the trade unions in European countries, Belgian unions managed to preserve a high and stable union density, and strong institutional positions. However, their situation is not blissful and the condition of both the workforce and the unions has been worsening for three decades....